Plans for thousands of homes on sites from Stockton to Darlington have received a multi-million boost from the Government.

£12.8million has been awarded to Stockton and Darlington Borough Councils working together with the Tees Valley Combined Authority, to be used for infrastructure work to attract or speed up key developments.

The West Park development, to the west of Darlington, will see 1,200 homes built, while 2,150 houses will be located to the north-west of Stockton-on-Tees , each of which will benefit as cash from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund brings the houses forward to secure more than £430million of private sector investment.

The successful bid is the first phase of a major infrastructure programme headed by Tees Valley Combined Authority and Mayor Ben Houchen worth around £250million. In total, this investment will directly unlock 20,570 homes across six sites in Stockton and Darlington and help to deliver private development funding of £2.9billion.

An announcement on future phases of the programme is expected later in the year.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This funding is a great start for our push for high-quality, diverse housing across the Tees Valley. These developments will begin to unlock our growth potential and give us the means to attract and retain talented people to the area. However, this tranche of cash is only the start of our plans to radically drive forward sustainable home building in the region. We will continue to work hard with all five councils and other partners to ensure Tees Valley has the right types of homes in the right places.”

Bob Cook , Combined Authority Cabinet member for Housing and Regeneration and Stockton Borough Council leader said: “We have considered the sites carefully for the Housing Growth Corridor to maximise on the opportunities and create truly sustainable communities. It’s fantastic news that we can now get spades into the ground early in these plans.”

Darlington Borough Council leader Bill Dixon, said: “This cash quite literally gives us something to build on for the future prosperity of the area and in addressing the issue of under-supply across the market.”